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BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
REPORTS, LETTERS &
EMAIL
Adapted from Gurudutt R. Kamath
 How We Communicate3
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• CVs, Resumes
• Email, Web site, FAQs
• Letters, Newsletters, Brochures, Articles, Catalogs
• Advertisements, Notice Board, Pamphlets, Signs,
Press Release
• Presentations, multimedia, talks
• Reports, Manuals, Proposals, Books
 Which Reports?
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Sales Reports

Inspection Reports

Annual Reports

Audit Reports

Feasibility Reports

Progress Reports

White Papers
 Technical Writing Reports
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 Proposals
 User Manuals
 Technical Manuals
 White Papers
 Classification of Reports
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 Formal Reports and Informal Reports

 Information Reports
 Analytical Reports
 Recommendation Reports
 5 Steps to Report Writing 1
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1. Define the problem

2. Gather the necessary information
3. Analyze the information
4. Organize the information
5. Write the report
 Organizing Reports
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 Comparison/contrast
 Problem-solution
 Elimination of alternatives
 General to particular
 Geographic or spatial
 Functional
 Chronological
 Writing Style
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 Brief writing style

 Omit needless words
 Combine sentences
 Rewrite
 Campus Jewelers’ main objective is to increase
sales. Specifically, the objective is to double sales
in the next five years by becoming a more
successful business.
 Campus Jewelers’ objective is to double sales in the
next five years.
 Anatomy of a Report
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 Cover Page
 Title Page
 Letter of Transmittal
 Table of Contents
 List of Illustrations
 Executive Summary
 Report Body
 Appendices
 Report Body
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 Introduction
 Purpose and Scope;Limitations, Assumptions, and Methods
 Background/History of the Problem
 Body
 Presents and interprets data
 Conclusions and Recommendations
 References or Works Cited
 Appendixes
 Interview transcripts, questionnaires, question tallies,
printouts, and previous reports
 Letter of Transmittal
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 Background
 Summarize conclusions and recommendations
 Minor problems. Thank those who helped.
 Additional research necessary
 Thank the reader. Offer to answer questions.
 Document Design
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 Use no more than 5 fonts.

 Use no more than 5 colors.
 Use glossy paper.
 Use white space.
 Use templates.
 Use parallelism.
 Avoid double emphasis.
 13

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
LETTERS & EMAILS
Gurudutt R. Kamath
 Making Messages Effective
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Clear
Complete
Correct
Save reader’s time
Build good will
 Complaint Letters
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 Nursery – Plants worth $572

 Dry and wilted. One came out by the roots when I
took it out of the box.
 Please send me a replacement shipment
immediately
 Response 1
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After ruling out problems in transit, I discovered that

your order was packed by a new worker who didn’t
understand the need to water plants thoroughly before
they are shipped. We have fired the worker, so you can be
assured that this will not happen again.

Although it will cost our company several hundred dollars,

we will send you a replacement shipment.

Let me know if the new shipment arrives safely. We trust

that you will not complain again.
 Response 2
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Sorry we screwed up that order. Sending plants across country is a

risky business. Some of them just can’t take the strain. (Some days
I can’t take the strain myself!) We’ll credit your account for $572.
 Response 3
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…it isn’t our fault. The box clearly says “Open and water
immediately.” …If you pull by the leaves, you will pull the roots
out. Always lift by the stem. Since you don’t know how to handle
plants, I’m sending you a copy of our brochure, “How to Care for
Your Plants.” Please read it carefully… …to avoid
disappointments in the future.

We look forward to your future orders.

 Response 4
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Your letter of the 5th has come to the attention of the undersigned.

According to your letter, your invoice #47420 arrived in

unsatisfactory condition. Please be advised that it is our policy to
make adjustments as per the Terms and Conditions…

“…make an exception on your order receipt…furnish us detailed

written information as to any damage.”
… you must comply with our terms and see that the necessary
documents reach the undersigned by the close of the business day
on the 20th of the month.
 Response 5
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You’ll get a replacement shipment of the perennials you ordered next week.

Your plants are watered carefully before shipment and packed in specially
designed cardboard containers. But if the weather is unusually warm, or if the
truck is delayed, small roots may dry out. Perhaps, this happened with your
plants.

The violas, diitalis, aquilegias and hostas you ordered are long-blooming
perennials that will get even prettier each year. Enjoy your garden.
 Communicate across Cultures
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 Gender
 Race and ethnicity
 Regional and national origin
 Social class
 Religion
 Age
 Sexual orientation
 Physical ability
 Bias-free Communication
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 Managers and their wives will…

 Managers and their spouses will…
 Manpower – Personnel
 Manhours – Hours or working hours
 Manning – Staffing
 Workman – Worker, employee, writer
 Chairman – Chair, chairperson
 Bias-free Communication
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 Plural nouns and pronouns

 Supervisors must…their departments.
 Use you.
 You must work for your deparment.
 Substitute with article or revise sentence
 Supervisor...time sheet for the department.
 The nurse will fill out the accident report.
 Letter Contents
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 Reference, Date, Address, Salutation, Subject ,

Body, Complimentary Close, Enclosures
 Dear Glenn: or Dear Mr Helms:
 Sincerely, and Cordially,
 Open (Dear Glenn) and Closed (Dear Glenn:)
 Second Page – Reader’s Name, Date, Page Number
 Formats for Letters and Memos
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 Open and closed punctuation

 Full stops at end of addresses
 Full stops in abbreviations (am/pm)
 Block and Modified Block
 Date and Signature
 Subject Line – Optional and Rare
 Meeting Agenda
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 Time and place

 Whether each item is presented for information, for
discussion, or for a decision
 Minutes of the Meeting
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 Decisions Reached
 Action Items
 Open Issues
 Body of the Email
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 Brief
 Important points at the top
 Bullets and numbering
 Emphasize (NOT)
 HTML (letterhead)
 All rules of good writing
 Mailing Lists
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 Your boss could be reading!

 Posts are archived.
 Avoid using company email address.
 Avoid conversations (one liners).
 Do not rush to lists.
 Resumé or Curriculum Vitae
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 Name, Address, Contact Details

 Objective, Education, Experience, Languages,
Personal, References
 Reverse chronological order
 Personal details – Age, marital status, children (US
laws on discrimination)
 Resumé Tips
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 Two pages maximum.

 Less important details on 2nd page.
 Highlight strengths, not weaknesses.
 Job hoppers -- period
 Create for each company.
 Use templates – but enhance them.
 Profile of Gurudutt R. Kamath
Gurudutt Kamath is a technical writer based in Mumbai with 20 years of experience writing
user manuals and help files for software exporters. Earlier, he was a journalist/editor for 5
years and wrote nearly a 1000 articles. He is an MA in English Literature and has Diplomas in
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Journalism and Book Publishing from Bhavan's. He began his career with Citicorp
Software. He has carried out projects onsite in USA, Dubai, and Hong Kong.  He has attended
conferences/training in UK, USA, Hong Kong, and Singapore. 
 
He wrote the DocuMentor column in IT People/Express Computer in 2002-2003.  He has
contributed two articles for Intercom and was a panelist under Nancy Hoft for the special
issue on Internationalization in the Technical Communications Journal. The article on
Internationalization was used as a part of the syllabus in Washington University. He has
contributed articles to INDUS, the award-winning STC India newsletter.
 
He has conducted several technical writing and tools workshops. He was a Guest Faculty at
National Institute of Design-Ahmedabad, Indian Institute of Technology-Mumbai, and
Department of Journalism-Pune. He has given talks on technical writing in forums such as
TWIN, STC India, IEEE, management institutes, engineering colleges, colleges, computer
institutes, and Rotary clubs.  He was a mentor for a US University. 

documentor@vsnl.com